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Author Topic: Top 100 Club: Sandy  (Read 56481 times)

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #100 on: February 03, 2019, 02:07:59 AM »
I watched A Fantastic Woman along with that director's more recent Disobedience the end of last year. I have not seen Gloria.

I'll tell you what I told smirnoff (who has seen most of my list).

I need to get new movies in there! :D

1SO

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #101 on: February 03, 2019, 03:58:13 PM »
I have 3 ideas.

All That Heaven Allows: Briefly in my Top 100 but a 2nd viewing struck me as emotional torture porn, which is why I've been putting off seeing it again.
Dan in Real Life: Didn't think too much one way or the other at the time. A rewatch?
Roman Holiday: for this reason

I will try for all 3, but can you rank them for me in terms of which discussion you want to have most?

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #102 on: February 03, 2019, 09:44:26 PM »
I have 3 ideas.

All That Heaven Allows: Briefly in my Top 100 but a 2nd viewing struck me as emotional torture porn, which is why I've been putting off seeing it again.
Dan in Real Life: Didn't think too much one way or the other at the time. A rewatch?
Roman Holiday: for this reason

I will try for all 3, but can you rank them for me in terms of which discussion you want to have most?

Interestingly enough, I see Dan in Real Life as high on the emotional torture porn scale as All That Heaven Allows. Even though one is in the guise of comedy, it hits me harder than the drama. The relationship in ATHA doesn't really do it for me. Jane Wyman is a cerebral performer and it's hard for me to really see someone carry a torch for her. It's her journey that really gets to me and the life style Hudson's character embodies is one I want to echo in my own life.

Would you be interested in doing a side by side exploration of All That Heaven Allows and Far from Heaven? They are hard for me to separate completely, since one bleeds into the other.

Every time I see Dan in Real Life, it goes higher on my top 100 list. There's something about Carell's timing and the editing of the shots which captures my heart. It's precision porn. ;)

Roman Holiday is on my list as a place marker of sorts. It's too iconic to leave off, but it would get demoted or booted if/or when something else captures my attention in a big way.

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #103 on: February 03, 2019, 10:14:05 PM »
The Poseidon Adventure (Ronald Neame, 1975)


smirnoff: Curious when you last saw Poseidon Adventure... it seems like a film you might have seen at a young age.
Sandy: I did, I was a kid when I saw it
smirnoff: Is that when you saw it last?
Sandy: I saw it again about 10 years ago
Sandy: or more!
Sandy: I can't remember :)
Sandy: does it hold up at all?
smirnoff: Aspects of it hold up I think. Like the production value is still pretty impressive. The sets.
Sandy: no cgi in that film, to bolster the sets
Sandy: I would be surprised if I saw it on it's first run, I was pretty little then
Sandy: when I saw it as an adult, I was surprised how sweary it was
Sandy: 70's movies were that way it seems
smirnoff: I'm not sure I even noticed that. I noticed how all the female characters (less one) was written to disrobe, lol.
Sandy: haha!
Sandy: even Shelley Winters did, didn't she?
Sandy: she had to swim in something doable
smirnoff: "You can't climb in that dress, take it off!" I think three characters get told something like that.
Sandy: :))
Sandy: dresses are such an nuisance!
smirnoff: Nobody tells them to take their heels off. That's how you know it wasn't about mobility
Sandy: :)) :))
Sandy: you're making me want to see this again!
Sandy: Does it surprise you it's in my top 100?
smirnoff: A bit... though it has a very humanist side to it.
smirnoff: I wondered if that's what put it on another level for you...
Sandy: It was a movie that messed with my young head
Sandy: i think i wrote somewhere on the forum
Sandy: that as a kid
Sandy: i would lay on my living room floor and look at the ceiling,
Sandy: and imagine trying to navigate my house upside down.
smirnoff: Yeah, that makes total sense.
Sandy: I also learned at an early age not to gripe about things and just dig in :)
Sandy: many of my top 100 are films that I saw as a kid,
Sandy: because they changed my world a little, or a lot
smirnoff: I like that there was a take away and that you still remember it.
Sandy: It made me want to be able to think outside the box and be a problem solver
Sandy: Hey, use a christmas tree as stairs!
Sandy: :))
smirnoff: Gosh, I can totally see the film through your eyes now. I think I pretty well stopped noticing the upside-downness after they left the ball room.
Sandy: :)
Sandy: when you're a kid,
Sandy: everything is new and exciting
smirnoff: oh 100%
Sandy: it's hard to find films that can be so totally altering as adults
smirnoff: Very true.
smirnoff: Well now it's very clear why it should be on your top 100. :)
Sandy: do you have an early childhood film that did this to you?
smirnoff: Little Monsters comes to mind, if you know it.
Sandy: i don't think I've ever seen it!
smirnoff: Probably my first "alternate universe" type of experience.
smirnoff: Beetlejuice... a similar sort of thing.
Sandy: that messed with my head and I didn't see it until I was an adult!
smirnoff: Poseidon was a strong starter I found.
Sandy: yeah, it didn't waste much time, did it?
smirnoff: That 15 minutes or so minutes before it all goes wrong, was very tense.... and it achieved a great tone. As an audience member it put you in a powerful spot.
Sandy: Well said!
Sandy: "powerful spot" I like that a lot
smirnoff: To make it coincide with the celebration of new years just added to the emotional gap.
Sandy: :)
Sandy: it was tense
Sandy: that was a new experience for me as a kid too
Sandy: i was feeling the trauma
Sandy: early empath experience!
smirnoff: Yeah, that makes total sense.
smirnoff: I found it very unflinching. In a way I didn't expect something called Poseidon *Adventure* to be.
Sandy: What were you thinking it would be like?
smirnoff: Tough to say... less raw I guess (especially in the build up).
Sandy: have you seen the remake?
smirnoff: I was unaware of one until just now. :)
Sandy: oh!
smirnoff: Have you seen it?
Sandy: well, I can't vouch for it, because I can't remember if I've seen all of it or not.
Sandy: it's gone from my memory :)
smirnoff: heh okay.
Sandy: not a good sign, is it?
smirnoff: For the movie, or for your memory?
Sandy: :))
Sandy: yes
smirnoff: :))
smirnoff: You know what I expected...
smirnoff: I expected a character to say "and I'm the happiest I've ever been, and this is going to be a wonderful trip and nothing bad could possible happen".
Sandy: ha!
Sandy: you have been burned too much with bad dialogue!
Sandy: the 70's were a pessimistic time
Sandy: no sugar coating there!
Sandy: they were expecting their cruise to be fair to middling at best
smirnoff: Indeed. And it dispatches characters pretty ruthlessly.
Sandy: it does!
Sandy: i wonder what the body count was
smirnoff: Feels like a few hundred dead overall... and we encounter a few dozen bodies, and withness at least a dozen deaths directly.
Sandy: sheesh
Sandy: when I was young, I kept thinking about all the people stuck in the ballroom during the movie.
Sandy: it haunted me
smirnoff: Yea, that would be hard to shake.
Sandy: the screams
Sandy: i can still hear them in a way
smirnoff: Though I kind of wondered about whether they would simply be able to swim as the water rose them to the level of that platform.
Sandy: oh!
smirnoff: The movie, and Gene Hackman, literally close the door on that possibility.
Sandy: they do. Ruthless
smirnoff: But in reality I wonder.
Sandy: i'd use all my swimming skill to get there!
Sandy: pick some wood and float up, even :)
smirnoff: yea. It hardly seemed the lost cause Hackman felt it was.
Sandy: :)
Sandy: hackman had no vision
smirnoff: I was glad of his presence anyways... I was just lamenting not seeing him in enough stuff lately.
smirnoff: I didn't realize he (or anyone I knew) would be in it before putting it on.
Sandy: as a kid I didn't know they were big names!
Sandy: i was oblivious
smirnoff: I do have some gripes though... once it's down to our core group...
Sandy: do tell!
smirnoff: Just the way they all act is very movie-ish. A lot of monologues and silly arguments that felt like they really wouldn't happy.
Sandy: contrived!
Sandy: that one girl, I wanted her to shut up already!
smirnoff: A lot of the time they make descisions as if there were some force that was making them remain as a group. I was like, if you disagree with Hackman, just go the other way!
Sandy: haha!
smirnoff: Oh god... they do not do the women any favours in this movie...
Sandy: :))
Sandy: no they do not!
smirnoff: They make them out to be the most frail and inept people ever!
Sandy: i know,
Sandy: bummer!
Sandy: I had to find female role models elsewhere!
smirnoff: I mean some of the guys are just as bad, but they don't make ANY of the women very capable (with the exception of one scene maybe).
smirnoff: There's the whole scene with the firehose... do you know the one?
Sandy: help me out,
Sandy: they tie it soemewhere, yes?
smirnoff: It's this ramp they need to get up... because the stairs are upside down.
smirnoff: So they pull each other up this ramp using a fire hose... but it's so lame... they really didn't look like any of them needed assistance.
Sandy: :))
smirnoff: Honestly... most of the women are hindered by the men constantly pulling them around by the elbow.
Sandy: :))
Sandy: i feel like I'm watching it with you!
Sandy: haha!
smirnoff: They treat them so daintily.
smirnoff: :)
smirnoff: It's super old school.
Sandy: I was reading something the other day,
Sandy: and the man said to the woman,
Sandy: that men were the nobler sex.
Sandy: and she didn't refute him!
Sandy: i think it was in Villette,
Sandy: Bronte's book
Sandy: nobler?
Sandy: what does that even mean?
smirnoff: I think I found the quote... lemme see.
smirnoff: "How must it be, then? How accept a man's part, and go on the stage dressed as a woman? This is an amateur affair, it is true—a vaudeville de pensionnat: certain modifications I might sanction, yet something you must have to announce you as of the nobler sex".
Sandy: :))
Sandy: that's it!
Sandy: gross!
smirnoff: lol
Sandy: i was listening while driving and yelled out,
Sandy: WHAT?!
smirnoff: :))
smirnoff: That stuff'll sneak up on you.
Sandy: well, smirnoff,
Sandy: higher moral principles and ideals than i,
Sandy: so it seems
Sandy: and finer personal qualities
Sandy: :))
Sandy: men must be a wonder
smirnoff: :))
Sandy: i think i got off on a tangent!
smirnoff: It leaves you shaking your head anyways.
Sandy: :)
Sandy: it does
Sandy: as for dainty,
Sandy: I've never been dainty a day in my life :)
smirnoff: :D
smirnoff: You would have survived this movie easily.
Sandy: though!
Sandy: in high heels,
Sandy: I'd be rather hopeless
smirnoff: Well so would Hackman.
Sandy: haha!
Sandy: :) As a kid, I sure strategized how I would have survived!
Sandy: no defeat for me!
smirnoff: That reminds me of watching prison movies as a kid!
smirnoff: Though it was more "I'm definitely not tough enough to be there".
Sandy: have you heard Ginger Roger's quote about that?
smirnoff: No.
Sandy: I looked it up so I would quote it correctly,
Sandy: it actually is a quote about her,
Sandy: "Sure he was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he (Fred Astaire) did, ...backwards and in high heels"
smirnoff: Nice. That's a great one.
Sandy: she was a great hoofer
Sandy: weird word, "hoofer"
smirnoff: A flattering term, I'm sure.
Sandy: yes, hoofer is a great compliment
smirnoff: I feel like I would get slapped saying it though. :))
Sandy: haha!
Sandy: did Hackman's heroic deed remind you of T2?
smirnoff: No. I'm sorry to say I was a bit fed up with the characters generally. No tears were shed. Though he had his moments.
Sandy: they were a tiresome lot!
smirnoff: If i had to sit through one more argument between Hackman and the other bull-headed guy...oh man.
Sandy: :))
Sandy: what you said earlier about it feeling movie like,
Sandy: that is where they got the movie wrong for sure
Sandy: trumped up conflict is a bad choice always
smirnoff: Absolutely.
smirnoff: There's so much they could have left unsaid that would still have be clearly bubbling under the surface.
Sandy: and wouldn't that have made a much better movie?
smirnoff: I think so yea. And just capturing more realistically how people would behave in a situation like that. Less theatrically for sure, and more animal instinct, and in a state of shock, and terror.
Sandy: yes!
Sandy: if my life was at stake,
Sandy: I wouldn't be wasting my energy belly aching
Sandy: or whining!
smirnoff: Right. And certainly not clutching your pearls. :)
Sandy: :))
Sandy: so we're delicate and superficial!
smirnoff: That's about the long and short of it, according to Poseidon Adventure.
Sandy: :))
Sandy: you're making me rethink my top 100 list. 😉
smirnoff: Nah, I think your reasons make a lot of sense. :)
Sandy: :) some films are hard to deny
Sandy: even if they treat women shabbily and the characters bicker ad nauseam
smirnoff: :))

1SO

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #104 on: February 03, 2019, 10:41:59 PM »
I'm definitely watching Dan in Real Life now. Interested to see the precision.

I don't know if I can give you what you're looking for with the two Heavens. I was thoroughly familiar with Todd Haynes' work before I saw anything by Douglas Sirk. With Far From Heaven, I see Haynes using Sirk as a rock to keep his usual storytelling anchored. By the time of Carol he had fully integrated Sirk so that it was now a part of him and no longer a pastiche.

1SO

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #105 on: February 03, 2019, 10:56:08 PM »
The Poseidon Adventure (Ronald Neame, 1975)
I want to jump in, especially since I have recently see The Last Voyage, which has a realism and immediacy I think would appeal to smirnoff, (plus George Sanders), but Poseidon will always work for me because of the upside down ship (plus Gene Hackman).

I saw Poseidon in Oct. 2012 because of Sandy, and was surprised how well it worked. Definitely a few notches above all the other 70s disaster movie cheese. (I've been meaning to show it to Mrs. 1SO as a Not-So-Scary Shocktober selection.)

I have also not seen the remake and have yet to come up with any reason to. For a 70s film, I wasn't really thinking how it could be better with more expensive effects.
 
smirnoff: Oh god... they do not do the women any favours in this movie...
Sandy: :))
Sandy: no they do not!
smirnoff: They make them out to be the most frail and inept people ever!
My favorite negative comment about the film comes from pixote.

Equally annoying was that the other primary source of conflict wasn't the ship or the water or the explosions, but rather Nonnie, who just couldn't go on ... she just couldn't.  When she just stalled on ladder, I wanted to throw something at the tv. 

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #106 on: February 03, 2019, 10:59:14 PM »
I'm definitely watching Dan in Real Life now. Interested to see the precision.

:))

Yikes! Have low expectations and then be pleasantly surprised by it, if you can.

Quote
I don't know if I can give you what you're looking for with the two Heavens. I was thoroughly familiar with Todd Haynes' work before I saw anything by Douglas Sirk. With Far From Heaven, I see Haynes using Sirk as a rock to keep his usual storytelling anchored. By the time of Carol he had fully integrated Sirk so that it was now a part of him and no longer a pastiche.

I think you just accomplished in a paragraph, what many would take a long time to process and write about. :) I haven't seen Carol yet! Must rectify that soon.

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #107 on: February 03, 2019, 11:08:36 PM »
1SO, I remember reading pixote's quote in your review! Funniest character capture ever! :))

Right now, I want to sit back for a bit and see what you and smirnoff discuss. This is a perfect movie for chat room reviews.

And smirnoff, thanks for watching it!

smirnoff

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #108 on: February 04, 2019, 12:52:54 AM »
I want to jump in, especially since I have recently see The Last Voyage, which has a realism and immediacy I think would appeal to smirnoff, (plus George Sanders), but Poseidon will always work for me because of the upside down ship (plus Gene Hackman).

Going by your review, The Last Voyage sounds like a proto-United 93 in how it goes about capturing the event and where it's priorities are. It's that different (true story) breed of disaster film... except it's not a true story. But the approach would still be a welcome one if that's the case, or anywhere near it.

Quote
I saw Poseidon in Oct. 2012 because of Sandy, and was surprised how well it worked.

Thanks for these links. The film does surprise. Me, you and pixote all seem to have had our expectations exceeded. I might be marginally less taken with it of the three of us, but I relate to everything that was said about it.

I can’t believe the film doesn’t end with a reprise of “The Morning After”. I always thought the lyrics were meant to be a direct reflection of the survivors in that moment. Also, they should’ve done the end credits with one last image of each cast member in their best moment. Perfect opportunity missed.

Any other kind of musical crescendo would have been good at that moment. The ending is quite abrupt, and I like your idea a lot better. There is a score but it is generic and unremkable and sounds like all string-lead ochestrations from that time period (shrill and horrible). It's only useful function was to help drown out the constantly shrieking women.  :P

But for the most part the film succeeds despite these lapses, partly because veteran director Ronald Neame doesn't dwell on them for too long.  He does generally good work here, highlighted, for example, by the very effective cross-cutting between the partygoers and the crew right before the wave hits.

The movie peaked for me here. Very well assembled. And depending on how much credit your willing to extend the filmmakers, it perhaps explains the flatness of Leslie Nielsen's performance. If they knew this is how they were going to cut it together from the beginning, his direction may have been deliberately ultra-flat.

Quote
I have also not seen the remake and have yet to come up with any reason to.
All I can imagine is that it would be weak in the same areas, and worse (overdone) in the visuals department.

*puts on trailer*

*stops after 5 seconds*

gaaaawd

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! It literally does THE EXACT THING I said to Sandy in our chat that I worried the original movie was going to do.

Quote
smirnoff: You know what I expected...
smirnoff: I expected a character to say "and I'm the happiest I've ever been, and this is going to be a wonderful trip and nothing bad could possible happen".

*keeps watching**pause*

Omg even the alarm sounds is worse! How is the alarm sound WORSE?

*keeps watching**pause*



Oh! Alright, the ship capsizing looks pretty good actually.

*keeps watching**pause*

How is every line featured in the movie stupider than the last?

*keeps watching**pause*



*keeps watching**pause*



It's worst than I imagined. Much worse.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2019, 12:56:22 AM by smirnoff »

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: Sandy
« Reply #109 on: February 04, 2019, 08:53:05 AM »
:)) :)) :))

You’ve outdone yourself, smirnoff!